The workshop addressed using GIS for animal health management this time using a free software called Quantum GIS. QGIS is an Open Source Geographic Information System which means it is freely available unlike the commercial GIS software which are expensive so it limits access. I’ve been using Arcview and ArcGIS in the past and I think QGIS is also fairly capable of performing common operations that I found in the commercial software. Plug-ins are available in the net so it’s easy to update. The first thing I noticed was QGIS does not have an “undo” feature which is very useful whenever you change your mind when mapping.
The three-day workshop included presentations, GPS field activity and mostly hands on, my preferred learning style. With the GPS activity, I like the way it was done because it’s not the usual acquiring of location coordinates but the Ausvet team put sort of questions like, what’s the color of the shelter in the south?, Why can’t we walk from here to east? What is the software being advertised in the north? For me, it was fun and challenging.
The third and last day of the workshop was devoted to our map presentations. We had until 4:00 pm to submit our maps and although I brought some of my old data, I decided the last minute to use another disease data. I think 8 minutes before the deadline, I was done with my lay-out, complete with details of disease and pictures, I saved it but when I retrieved it, nothing appeared. I told the AusVet team about it but thank God I was able to deliver my map right on time.
At the farewell dinner, there was going to be an awarding of the best map and the people who are there, including the faculty of veterinary medicine should vote who wins. There were 13 of us who competed, and among the four delegates from the Philippines, I was the only one who joined. Each map were judged according to map presentation and details of what the map was trying to convey.
My map was judged as the Winner. It was flattering what Dr. Angus Cameron said of my map. He said that he was impressed how I was quick to organize my map even if I had little time. He said it was excellent map. Maybe because I applied all the lesson they taught during the workshop. Ben Maddin also commented that my map is a work of a GIS professional because it clearly illustrates the management of a disease. Of course, I was truly happy with the outcome but I felt nervous being referred to as GIS professional. Anyway, those are the maps that I normally create in our office and I learn a lot more through exploring.
I’m looking forward to workshops like this because I get to be away from the office (lol)–, I like to travel, I meet plenty of people who can share and talk the same language (GIS) with me and most of all I learn new things.